Hello friends! So my son started kindergarten this year, which involves taking French. Last week he asked me, pronouncing the final word in French, "Is it still Septembre?" Why, yes. Yes it is still Septembre. Here is what I've been up to in the last month or so.

...and I ordered a delightful hammy panini to eat as I visited with some special people who live in the area.

King Arthur Flour is a Certified B Corporation, a special kind of business structure with a triple bottom line, showing that not only do they aim to grow profit, but also benefit people and planet.

I had a $25 gift card and picked out a woodsy tea towel, an apple oven mitt, a baker's blade (also known as a "lame"), and a yeast measuring spoon.

The yeast spoon is particularly exciting. It measures exactly the amount of 1 packet of yeast, being 2 1/4 teaspoons. I stopped buying yeast packets years ago and have been carefully measuring out 2 1/4 teaspoons of bulk yeast ever since. Being able to do this in ONE SCOOP is pure genius.

September also means the Guilford Fair here in Vermont. Here are some prize winning vegetables—check out the gorgeous cabbages in the center.

Hey look—King Arthur Flour prizes!

This weekend we also made it back to Pickity Place in New Hampshire for an elegant multi-generational lunch. (Here is my 2014 post.)

We were seated in the sunroom this time--well worth making a special request!

Mint tableside

Fruit & cheese to start

Potato soup... it had a nice, savory porcini mushroom undertone

Seared citrus salad with slice of watermelon radish and one tiny pickled pepper

Foccacia with dipping oil

The beef medallions over barley was actually a chicken-fried steak over risotto. Summer squash on the side. It was really good!

Lemon cupcake with blackberry buttercream... and a blackberry!

Pickity Place does an amazing job. They make you feel special and pampered, but they are also a well-oiled machine with 3 seatings a day. And of course, the grounds are also very picturesque, great for a post-prandial wander.

Sheep!!

Also, it was Bombadil Feast Day this weekend! We started this tradition in 2011, and our 5th annual edition is going stronger than ever. We had guests, and readings, and stomp rockets in the yard.

Sausages are now a major part of the tradition, in addition to drinking-bowls.